The staff who would have to make a cut to school starting ages work strongly oppose it, a survey has found.
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State school teachers, principals and support staff opposed lowering the prep starting age 77 per cent to 14 per cent, an Australian Education Union survey showed.
“Teachers believe the government’s focus on sending children to school younger is fundamentally flawed because it overlooks the critical role of parents in determining a child’s educational success,” AEU state branch president Helen Richardson said.
“This is especially important for disadvantaged families.
“Teachers recommend that the government invests where it can make the biggest difference for kids at risk, and that's through expanding facilities such as child and family centres and programs such as Launching into Learning that specialise in educating parents and can give children the individual attention they need.”
The government wants to cut the compulsory starting age for prep from five to 4.5. The non-compulsory starting age for kindergarten would drop by six months to 3.5.
Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff argues the changes are about social justice for children from families which cannot afford childcare.
We can’t expect to do better while we’re doing less.
- Will Hodgman
The AEU said teachers were concerned adding younger, complex needs children to classrooms would worsen under-resourcing in speech therapy, psychology and teacher assistants.
“We acknowledge the government’s good intentions and absolutely support more access to early years learning, and that’s why we want to see targeted investment and expansion of highly successful and specialised facilities such as child and family centres and programs such as Launching into Learning and Learning in Families Together,” Ms Richardson said.
Opposition Education Minister Michelle O’Byrne said the Liberal government had no choice but to abandon its plan to lower the school starting age and said greater investment should be around early-years learning.
“Labor supports a greater investment in early-years learning and is proud of the initiatives we put in place in government,” Ms O’Byrne said.
“Child and Family Centres and Launching Into Learning have both had a profoundly positive effect and have helped prepare children for school … If the people who are in charge of education don’t support the reform, it can’t possibly go ahead.”